Right Here and Now Part 2

Saturday morning arrived beneath an unclouded sky, crisp with the scent of early autumn.

The platinum ring, set with a clean, brilliant diamond flanked by two smaller stones, felt like a lead weight in the left pocket of Ernest's coat. He had spent an hour choosing it, another hour second-guessing the setting, and had returned to the jeweler twice before accepting that it was understated, elegant, and uniquely suited to Eleanor's practical grace.

When his carriage pulled into the Valemont courtyard shortly before ten, Lord Adrian was standing near the gravel path, inspecting the estate roses with his hands behind his back.

Ernest stepped down from the carriage. "Lord Valemont."

Adrian turned, looking at Ernest with a calm, penetrating gaze. "She is pinning her hat upstairs, Ernest. Walk with me toward the orchard for a moment."

Ernest followed the older man past the high boxwood hedges until the house was shielded from view.